War In Pacific

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Mathew C Perry

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Commodore of the U.S. Navy and served commanding a number of US naval ships. He served several wars, most notably in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. He was very concerned with the education of naval officers and helped develop an apprentice system that helped establish a naval curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine he was also a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered The Father of the Steam Navy. (wikipedia)
On March 31 1854 representatives of Japan and the United States signed a historic treaty. Henegotiated tirelessly for several months with Japanese officials to achieve the goal of opening the doors of trade with Japan. He received what he had so dearly worked for--a treaty with Japan.) The treaty provided for:
1. Peace and friendship between the United States and Japan.
2. Opening of two ports to American ships at Shimoda and Hakodate
3. Help for any American ships wrecked on the Japanese coast and protection for shipwrecked persons
4. Permission for American ships to buy supplies, coal, water, and other necessary provisions in Japanese ports (U.S. Navy Museum).

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Meiji Restoration

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was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji period. (wikipedia)
The Japanese knew that they were behind the rest of the world when American Commodore Matthew C. Perry came to Japan to try to issue a treaty that would open up Japanese ports to trade. Perry came to Japan in large warships with armament and technology that far outclassed those of Japan at the time. The leaders of the acted in the name of restoring imperial rule in order to strengthen Japan against the threat represented by the colonial powers of the day. the goal was to combine "western advances" with the traditional, "eastern" values (Wikipedia).
accelerated industrialization in Japan, which led to its rise as a military power by the year 1905, under the slogan of "Enrich the country, strengthen the military" (Wikipedia).

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Newspaper Laws

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was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Richard Nixon, authorizing the formation of joint operating agreements among competing newspaper operations within the same market area. It exempted newspapers from certain provisions of antitrust laws

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Imperial Rescript on Education

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was signed by Emperor Meiji of Japan on 30 October 1890 to articulate government policy on the guiding principles of education on the Empire of Japan. The 315 character document was read aloud at all important school events, and students were required to study and memorize the text

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Zaibatsu

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diversified family enterprises that rose to prominence in the Meiji Era. Some of the most important ones and their origins were: Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Asano, and Suzuki. (SJSU.edu)
A group of companies owned by the same family that more or less controlled the Japanese economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially between the two World Wars. Each consisted of a holding company, which entirely owned a bank that financed their operations.

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Publication Law

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The body of law relating to the publication of books, magazines, newspapers, electronic materials, and other artistic works.
Publishing is the act of distributing or otherwise making public a visual or literary work. The key players in publishing are publishers and authors. Publishers are those persons or organizations that dispense information to the public

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Genro

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was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen, considered the "founding fathers" of modern Japan

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Ronin

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In 1703, 47 masterless samurai assassinated a close confident of the shogun to avenge the death of their lord, Asano Naganori
Violating the Tokugawa Law, the ronin committed suicide to preserve their honor and Asano’s.

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People’s Rights Movement

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was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in 1880s. (Wikipedia)
In 1874, Taisuke Itagaki began a nation-wide political movement,
Many thinkers and activists joined Itagaki and were put in jail and killed, but this movement prepared the basis for Japanese democracy.

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Kokutai

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indicates a country's spiritual and moral aspects such as its national character, national customs, national qualities, national prestige, moral obligations (meibun), foundation, its true nature and its unique characteristics. In Japan it indicates the state of a traditional country centered upon the concept of imperial rule. Following the Meiji Restoration, it came to hold deep significance as a concept used to sustain the system of a single, unified nation state.

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New Order in Asia

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The original concept was an idealistic wish to free Asia from colonizing powers, but soon, nationalists saw it as a way to gain resources to keep Japan a modern power, and militarists saw the same resources as raw materials for war. (Wikipedia)[
In 1937, Japanese forces in large numbers had invaded China. The poorly equipped and badly led Chinese were no match for the modern Japanese army. But even as Japanese forces struck deep into Chinese territory, Japan's military leaders, who by 1940 were in control of its government, were thinking beyond of China to the control of the entire Far East. (TPHS)
In 1940, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs stated the trend of his government's desire to create a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere under Japan's guidance to challenge European dominance of the region. This policy became the cornerstone of Japan's rationale for imperial expansion in East Asia.

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Washington Disarmament Conference

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On 2 November 1921, an international conference on the limitation of naval fleet construction begins in Washington. Under the leadership of the American Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes the representatives of the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan pledge not to exceed the designated sizes of their respective naval fleets.

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Five Power Treaty

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was an agreement reached at the Washington Conference (1921-2) to limit tonnage of certain types of naval ships and establish a ratio of capital ships for each nation. The ratio was 5 for the United Kingdom, 5 for the United States, 3 for Japan, 1.67 for France, and 1.67 for Italy.

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First Sino-Japanese War

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was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. After more than six months of continuous successes by Japanese army and naval forces, as well as the loss of the Chinese port of Weihaiwei, the Qing leadership sued for peace in February 1895.
The war was a clear indication of the failure of the Qing dynasty's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially compared with Japan's success post-Meiji restoration (Wikipedia)

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Twenty-one Demands:

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made by the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu sent to the nominal government of the Republic of China on January 18, 1915, resulting in two treaties with Japan on May 25, 1915. (Wikipedia)
required that China immediately cease its leasing of territory to foreign powers and to ascent to Japanese control over Manchuria and Shandong (Shantung) among other demands. (Firstworld.com)
Japan secretly presented (1915) President Yüan Shih-kai with an ultimatum comprising divided into five sections. These provided that Japan assume Germany's position in Kiaochow; that Manchuria and Mongolia be reserved to Japan for exploitation and colonization; that Japan control the main coal deposits of China; that the other powers be excluded from further territorial concessions; and that Japan guide China's military, commercial, and financial affairs

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Open Door Policy

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a concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, it originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in treaties concluded with Qing Dynasty China after the First Opium War (1839–1842).

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Fundamental Principles of National Policy

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In 1936 the IJN proposed that Japan "adopt a policy of advance into the 'South Seas' "(gradually and by peaceful means),a policy aimed at more maintaining a role and funding for the Navy.Since 1931 the Army had received the first preference on resources,funding due to its advances on the Asian mainland,and its now direct confrontational role with the Soviets in Manchuria.

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March 1st Movement

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also called Samil Independence Movement, series of demonstrations for Korean national independence from Japan that began in the Korean capital city of Seoul and soon spread throughout the country (Britannica Encyclopedia)

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Taisho Democracy

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Term for Japan’s continued moves toward broader representational government. The tax qualification for voting was reduced, enfranchising more voters, and eventually eliminated in 1925. Party politics flourished and legislation favourable to labour was passed.

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Mukden Incident

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was a staged event engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China, known as Manchuria, in 1931 (Wikipedia). japanese lt tried to blow up a railroad but failed. the japanese blamed it on the chinese and invaded manchuria.

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Chaing Kai-Shek

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was a political and military leader of 20th-century China (Wikipedia)
In 1926 he commanded the army which aimed to unify China. He defeated the communist army and forced the survivors to make the famous Long March to Shensi in North West China. he eventually established a government in Nanjing. (schoolnet.co.uk)

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Mao-Tse Tung

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was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held authoritarian control over the nation until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism–Leninism, along with his military strategies and brand of policies,

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Madame Chiang

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was a First Lady of the Republic of China (ROC), the wife of Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-shek. She was a politician, painter and the chairman of Fu Jen Catholic University
she played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China and was the sister-in-law of Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the Republic of China preceding her husband. (Wikpedia)

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General Tojo

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was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944.
As Prime Minister, he was directly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the war between Japan and the United States
After the end of the war, he was arrested, sentenced to death for Japanese war crimes (Wikipedia)

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Second Sino-Japanese War

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was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union (1937–1940) and the United States
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941), the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War.

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Rape of Nanking

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Between December 1937 and March 1938 at least 369,366 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war were slaughtered by the invading troops. An estimated 80,000 women and girls were raped; many of them were then mutilated or murdered. (Wikipedia)
It is generally remembered for the invading forces' barbaric treatment of Chinese women. Many thousands of them were killed after gang rape, and tens of thousands of others brutally injured and traumatized. Meanwhile, approximately a quarter of a million defenseless Chinese men were rounded up as prisoners-of-war and murdered en masse, used for bayonet practice, or burned and buried alive

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Ambassador Nomura

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was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and was the ambassador to the United States at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
1941, he negotiated with United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull in an attempt to prevent war from breaking out between Japan and the United States. he and Hull attempted to resolve issues including the Japanese conflict with China, the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, and the United States oil embargo against Japan. his repeated pleas to his superiors to offer the Americans meaningful concessions were rejected by his own government. Reportedly he and Kurusu had to personally decode the radioed message of Japan's breaking off the negotiations with the United States (which given the circumstances practically meant war), as it had been sent from Japan on Monday, December 8 and was received when the embassy's technical support staff was still on Sunday holiday. he stated that this is why he had been unable to deliver the message until after the actual attack had taken place.[5] In his memoirs, Hull credited him with having been sincere in trying to prevent war between Japan and the USA. On August 20, 1942, he returned to Japan. He continued to serve in an unofficial capacity as an advisor to the government through World War II, and was appointed to the Privy Council in May 1945.

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Isoruku Yamamoto

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was a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. He was the commander-in-chief during the decisive early years of the Pacific War and so was responsible for major battles such as Pearl Harbor and Midway. He died during an inspection tour of forward positions in the Solomon Islands when his aircraft (a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bomber) was shot down during an ambush by American P-38 Lightning fighter planes. His death was a major blow to Japanese military morale during World War II. he personally opposed the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the subsequent land war with China (1937), and the 1940 Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. As he had planned, the First Air Fleet of six carriers commenced hostilities against the Americans on 7 December 1941, launching 353[14] aircraft against Pearl Harbor in two waves. American aircraft carriers were also considered a choice target, but these were not in port at the time of the attack. his plan for Midway Island was an extension of his efforts to knock the U.S. Pacific Fleet out of action long enough for Japan to fortify her defensive perimeter in the Pacific island chains. he felt it necessary to seek an early, offensive decisive battle

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Battle of Coral Sea

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fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, as well as the first in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. In an attempt to strengthen their defensive positioning for their empire in the South Pacific, Imperial Japanese forces decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the southeastern Solomon Islands. The plan to accomplish this, called Operation MO. The U.S. learned of the Japanese plan through signals intelligence. On 3–4 May, Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi, although several of their supporting warships were surprised and sunk or damaged by aircraft from the U.S. fleet carrier Yorktown. Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies for several reasons. Japanese expansion, seemingly unstoppable until then, was turned back for the first time. More importantly, the Japanese fleet carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku – one damaged and the other with a depleted aircraft complement – were unable to participate in the Battle of Midway, which took place the following month, ensuring a rough parity in aircraft between the two adversaries and contributing significantly to the U.S. victory in that battle. The severe losses in carriers at Midway prevented the Japanese from reattempting to invade Port Moresby from the ocean. Two months later, the Allies took advantage of Japan's resulting strategic vulnerability in the South Pacific and launched the Guadalcanal Campaign that, along with the New Guinea Campaign, eventually broke Japanese defenses in the South Pacific and was a significant contributing factor to Japan's ultimate defeat in World War II.

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Doolittle Raid

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Was put into effect early, after the Japanese bombed the Hornet’s escort. was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands (specifically Honshu) during World War II. Sixteen U.S. Army Air Forces B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet deep in the Western Pacific Ocean. The plan called for them to bomb military targets in Japan, and to continue westward to land in China. All the aircraft involved in the bombing were lost and 11 crewmen were either killed or captured. The raid caused negligible material damage to Japan, but it succeeded in its goal of helping American morale, and casting doubt in Japan on the ability of the Japanese military leaders. It also caused Japan to withdraw its powerful aircraft carrier force from the Indian Ocean to defend their Home Islands,

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B. of Midway

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Americans decoded secret Jap. Message for attack on midway. Yorktown goes 300 miles north of midway to ambush the japs. Nagumo attacks Midway. Unaware of American sneak attack. American bombers get lost and get blown out of sky. Not one successful strike on jap carriers. Facing defeat. Nagumo launches massive attack. Jap carriers finally get spotted by American dive bombers with no defenses. The japs are destroyed in 5 minutes. Jap planes fire on Yorktown but doesn’t sink it. Jaop torpedo bombers get shot down but still hits one carrier. Dick Best’s crew finds the last jap carrier and destroy it. Yorktown headed back to get fixed but finally gets sunk

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B. Bismarck Sea

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During the course of the battle, aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy that was carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea. Most of the task force was destroyed, and Japanese troop losses were heavy.

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Guadalcanal

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Jap control threatens austrailia and disrupt shipping from America. Aug 7 1942 americans planes shell island for landing. First time invading jap territory. Not many japs there. Land without much opposition. Jap planes and ships torpedoed amer ships. Americans build airstrip and land planes there. Japs attack and are mowed down. Amers get malaria. Japs charge amers. Amers barrage Japs at bloody ridge. Amers win. Japs lose 23,000

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Tokyo Express

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Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II. The tactic involved loading personnel or supplies onto submarines and fast warships (e.g., destroyers), and using the warships' speed capability to deliver the personnel or supplies to the desired location and return to the originating base all within one night so Allied aircraft could not intercept them by day.

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Batt. of Tenaru River

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on the island of Guadalcanal, and was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between Imperial Japanese Army and Allied (mainly United States Marine) ground forces. The battle was the first major Japanese land offensive during the Guadalcanal campaign. The battle was the first of three separate major land offensives by the Japanese in the Guadalcanal campaign. The Japanese realized after that Allied forces on Guadalcanal were much greater in number than originally estimated and sent larger forces to the island for their subsequent attempts to retake Henderson Field. Underestimating the strength of Allied forces on Guadalcanal, which at that time numbered about 11,000 personnel, Ichiki's unit conducted a nighttime frontal assault on Marine positions at Alligator Creek on the east side of the Lunga perimeter. Ichiki's assault was defeated with heavy losses for the Imperial attackers.

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Savo Island

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first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign

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Operation Cartwheel

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Plan to moved through new guinea to the soloman islands, reduce stronghold on new Britain, take vella lavella. Rabaul would be attacked from two sides. needed for easier access to Philippines. it was a twin-axis of advance operation, aimed at militarily neutralizing the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was directed by the Supreme Allied Commander in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA)—General Douglas MacArthur—whose forces advanced along the northeast coast of New Guinea and occupied nearby islands. Allied forces from the Pacific Ocean Areas command—under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz—advanced through the Solomon Islands toward Bougainville. Rabaul had 100,000 jap soldiers. Pounded it from the air. Blockaded it. Tradong routes to austrailia remained secure. Air and naval bases were secure.

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“Island Hopping”

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a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan and the Axis powers during World War II. The idea was to bypass heavily fortified Japanese positions and instead concentrate the limited Allied resources on strategically important islands that were not well defended but capable of supporting the drive to the main islands of Japan.

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Douglas MacArthur

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was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. his proposal for an attack on the Japanese base at Rabaul met with objections from the Navy, which favored a less ambitious approach, and objected to an Army general being in command of what would be an amphibious operation. The resulting compromise called for a three stage advance, with the first, the seizure of the Tulagi area, being conducted by the Pacific Ocean Areas, under Adm. Chester W. Nimitz. The later stages would be under his command

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Ketsu-Go

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Japan’s final plan of defense against the American fleet. The homeland itself would be the arena of the battle. It was divided into three features. First, based on prior battles, the Japanese realized that destroying the enemy at water’s edge or far inland was not efficient. The Japanese knew they could not do anything about the prelanding bombardments nor could they dislodge the Americans from their acquired positions after the landing. The plan of Ketsu-go was to destroy the beachhead and the perimeter established by the invader a few days after the landing. Second, was the devotion to tokko, or special attacks and suicide tactics. These were not the air or sea tactics already used in the Pacific, but they were demonstrated on land. Third was the incorporation of civilian guerillas. When the Americans would overrun any portion of the homeland, these guerillas would beset them